A screw-up in EA's Warhammer Online billing system has resulted in many players being charged upwards of 22 times for a one-month subscription, filling bank accounts with overdraft fees and the Warhammer forums with very angry players.

A Warhammer Online forum thread named 'Billing Error' has been filling with reports from customers who were surprised yesterday when their normal monthly fee for playing the EA MMO was multiplied anywhere from 12 to 22 times. That's upwards of $329.78 for one month of Warhammer Online.

One reader even linked a snapshot of his bank account as proof of the issue.

EA is aware of the issue, addressing it in a post on the Warhammer Online Herald, following it with this hopeful bit of news:

We have confirmed with our vendor that players who have been charged multiple times for their subscriptions should start seeing a reversal of charges within 24-36 hours. We anticipate that once the charges have been reversed, any fees that have been incurred should be refunded as well.

It's great that the charges are being reversed, but the damage is already done. Players are finding themselves with empty bank accounts, overdraft charges are piling up, and the notion that reversing the charges will clear any bank fees is a fanciful one at best. My bank doesn't play that way. I've had similar situations arise in the past, and I've needed to fight tooth and nail to get my money back.

To assist us in providing the best possible service please contact your financial institution prior to contacting EA Billing Support as we can only assist with resolving additional fees after you have been reimbursed.

This is going to be an extremely busy week for EA billing support, and I'd daresay EA's lawyers will be getting a workout as well.